Buying a house

[Fisher's Mom]

So true, AllenOK. I love it when people move here from California because they are amazed and delighted to see what they can buy here vs. there. You can buy a very, very nice home here for 350,000 but in Silicon Valley, you'd be hard pressed to buy a garage for that. (Of course, salaries vary too from location to location in part to take into account cost of living.)

 

[NAchef]

Here is something you should look into. Someone posted this earlier and it is something I have thought about doing.

Utah Real Estate - Your One Stop Source for Searching Real Estate in Utah

You get half of your mortgage paid, or more, and you will have something that will gain you money in the future. If you can look into a 15 year loan, I only pay a couple hundred extra and A LOT less interest.

 

[jpmcgrew]

Wow, this is a good thread!

One thing to remember, is LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION! Also, the Law of Supply and Demand.

I live out in the sticks, within a stone's-throw of Tulsa, OK. I literally mean "the sticks", too. I wake to two of my neighbor's roosters bragging to each other about the size of their flocks each morning. Another neighbor has horses. A fourth has cattle. We hear coyotes at night sometimes. We're currently renting a Rent-to-own house, about 2700 sq. ft, 4 bedrooms (technically, there's another "study" that we use as a bedroom as well), 2 1/2 bath, 1 1/2 car garage. Not sure how much land, exactly, but I'm guesstimating over an acre (takes me 3 hours to mow it with a push-mower). The owner wants $120,00 for the whole schmear.

Go into Tulsa, and the prices get higher for smaller homes. More demand for homes, less supply, unless you're willing to live in the newer suburbs and pay $$$$ for BIG new homes.

For what you all are talking about pricewise for housing, if I were to pay that kind of money here, I'd better be living in a freaking mansion on the south side of Downtown.


jpmcgrew, Eagle's Nest, halfway between Cimmaron and Taos? That was a really nice-looking area back in '92, the last time I was out there.

You are right Allen, Angel Fire is 11 miles from Eagle Nest and Taos is about another 25 miles from AF. Beautiful country but not cheap
Search Angel Fire, Red River, Moreno Valley NM Real Estate Listings For Sale

 

[LT72884]

i have seen a few duplexes around here for a good deal. they just needed a lot of work. there is so much to know when buying a house or even a car.

 

[jpmcgrew]

From our land you can see Eagle Nest lake to the left and in front you can see Mount Wheeler highest peak in New Mexico. We are right next to a mountain and on one lot we have a little forest with an under ground stream that comes up in the summer wide enough to to not be able to jump over very easily.
Sangre de Cristo Chronicle, Angel Fire, New Mexico
The Sangre de Christo Mountains translated from Spanish means Blood of Christ. Welcome to New Mexico. Land of Enchantment.

 

[LT72884]

ok this house right here
Search Angel Fire, Red River, Moreno Valley NM Real Estate Listings For Sale

with 4.2 acres of land and a gorgeous interior for 658,000$ vs's my next door neighboors house
Utah Real Estate - Your One Stop Source for Searching Real Estate in Utah

i would rather live in NM. the house above is was originally built in the late 1800's early 1900's but they still want almost a mill for it when i can spend that much and live in NM for like 10 times the land and have horses.

 

[jennyema]

i have seen a few duplexes around here for a good deal. they just needed a lot of work. there is so much to know when buying a house or even a car.

It's often easier for young people starting out with lower incomes to qualify for a mortgage on a duplex than on a single family house because the lender will consider your rental income also.

 

[miniman]

GG, I'm not saying everyone makes a profit when they sell a home. What I was saying was, in the long term a homes value will go up.....no matter what. 15 years from now your house and everyone elses will be worth more. Now, if you were smart and didn't keep borrowing againt your equity, you'll still be paying the same amount of money.

Every time there's a spike in home values it will drop for a while. Your friend made a big mistake buying in a sellers market, but if they stay there tables will turn and they will be in good shape.

The realtor comment was to another poster.

I agree that the "value" always goes up in the long term but you have to think about it in real terms and compare the increase with the changes in monetary value and inflation. So while your house may be going up but not as fast as salraries & other costs, it's effective (comparable) value is actually decreasing. It may also change effective to another area when you are moving, so your house may not grow in value as fast as another area which may cause problems when you are selling in order to buy somewhere else.

 

[Barbara L]

if i had the money right now i would buy this one.

Utah Real Estate - Your One Stop Source for Searching Real Estate in Utah

"Bar Wet?" I think if I were listing an almost $4 million house, I would have someone proofread the copy a little better! LOL

Nice house, but I would certainly want a staff to clean/maintain something that huge!

Barbara

 

[sage™]

I think houses will start to go down in a lot of places. Another way to get good deals on houses is to check the VA and HUD foreclosures..they are usually listed in the newspapers (classified section) on Fridays..at least they are here.

 

[Claire]

I have noticed that real estate prices have skyrocketed; however they are not selling. That seems excessive to me unless you're living in vacation-land. In that case, you pay out the wazoo. If you do not live in ski-land, just make a lower offer.

 

[wysiwyg]

LT72284,
Same as some others advised... right now, you have a big advantage: IT IS A BUYER'S MARKET. Even better for you since you don't have property to sell.
Save as much as you can for a down payment and utilize the services of a financial advisor, check with several ones until you find one that makes you feel comfortable and asks you a ton of questions. This means he wants to know more about you because ultimately, you will be the one making the decision.
Relative to the houses posted, they all look amazing but in my opinion they are way too big and will take a ton of money and time to keep up with (gas, electricity, dusting and cleaning, yard, etc.)
Bottom line: Enjoy this time because when you go house hunting, you realize you must know much more of yourself than you actually do.
As sage stated: Check your county office, they probably have a list of foreclosures, non-paid taxes, etc. properties that are good values.

 

[LT72884]

hey What You See Is What You Get, Thanks for the advice. Sage had a good idea. I know my cousin bought a 2.3 million dollar house for 500,000$ because the person after so many years had to foreclose on it and the bank only wanted as much as the loan pay off was so they wouldnt go in the red. I have often thought of buying a foreclosed house. I will be sure to find someone who asks me tons of questions.

 

[sage™]

The way they keep saying a recession is upon us (if true) means there will be a lot of foreclosed to chose from. Back in the early 80's there were 200 to 300 homes listed in the classifieds every week. We bought a HUD home then..was only $1600. to move in..I don't know how big of down payment they want now a days.
Just save all the money you can while your living with your parents in case you need to fix a place up, etc. Another expense you may need to consider besides house payments, taxes, insurance is HOA (Home Owner Association)dues. Some of them can be really high. But its good to live in a neighborhood that does enforce deed restrictions to help protect your property values.

 

[wysiwyg]

LT72884,
IMHO: We are in a recession and will remain this way for quite a while (I am worried this may turn into a depression). The real state crisis will continue for a while (the Fed are printing more money to stimulate the economy and create more inflation) and the stock market may go down (just compare any stock price/earning ratio with historical values and you will realize that stocks are overpriced).
I'd imagine it will remain a buyer's market for a while. If you are looking for a house, check how much time and money will be required to maintain it (bills and taxes).
Sage idea is right on, the main thing is that you will readily available cash to pay for the foreclosure and most likely property taxes.

Although real state has been historically a good way to save your earnings from inflation, it has been inflated in an unrealistic way during the 90's due to fiscal policy that moved our economy artifically (dropping interest rates) and printed too much money instead of putting incentives in savings and production of goods. The market is adjusting now, just make sure you take advantage of the opportunity.

 

[Barbara L]

LT, I know nothing about buying houses (found our house and land online and happened to get a great deal--didn't buy online, it was through the realtor we were already renting through), and it looks like you have gotten a lot of good advice here. Here's another thought (sorry if it has already been brought up--I didn't see it). I guess the best way to say what I mean (since the words don't want to come out right) is to give an example. About an hour from here are two cities right next to each other. One of the cities would be a great place to work, but the cost of everything there is so high that I wouldn't want to live there. The cost of living is much better in the city right next to it. So it would be smart to work in the first city and live in the second. So what I am trying to say is, if you want to live in a certain area but it is too expensive, try another area nearby.

Barbara

 

[wysiwyg]

LT72884,
Even if this sounds obvious, I don't think it is redundant. If you are going to start looking for a house, check your Credit Score as lenders will use that information to determine interest rates. With that information on hand, check with several institutions to find out how much you can afford...also getting pre-qualified for a price range will help you narrow down your choices in terms of what house you can afford. And last but not least, get informed. Acquire knowledge via books, professional advise, internet, etc. etc.
Good luck!

 

[jpmcgrew]

House values are expected to go down another 25 % before it gets better again. I would save every penny I could in case something really great comes up. When you get a house you can afford on your own you might want to take on a room mate and save that money for unexpected emergencies, property taxes etc.

 

[sage™]

Here, property taxes and insurance are included in your house payment.

 

[CharlieD]

if i had the money right now i would buy this one.

Utah Real Estate - Your One Stop Source for Searching Real Estate in Utah

You and me alone. It would be just about the right house for me. With some small remodoling convert couple of bedrooms into extra kitchen space with 3 stoves 3 sinks, about 6 ovens, I'd be pretty happy. Of course I can only affort about $500.00 bucks a month, and I am not that yong and even have a carier, but ousing is just absolutelly crazy. The feds should have been rasing interest rates back in 98 to slow down the market, well it's too late for that.